A conventional quartz crystal timepiece uses a gear train comprising the rotor pinion of a motor driven by pulses supplied by the electronic circuitry of the timepiece, a fourth gear, a fourth wheel pinion, a third gear, a third pinion and a center wheel and pinion on which the minute hand is mounted. When the hands of the timepiece are adjusted in a counterclockwise direction in a hand setting operation the engaging condition of the gear train remains the same as in the driving condition. No backlash develops. However, in case the hands are adjusted clockwise a backlash is generated in the gear train. When the rotor pinion starts to rotate after a clockwise hand setting adjustment the center wheel and pinion carrying the minute hand does not move until all of the backlash between the gears of the gear train has taken up. In a two-hands timepiece this effects an error in the setting while in a center seconds-hand timepiece it causes a divergence of the minute and second hands. This is disadvantageous since usually the hands of a timepiece are moved clockwise in a setting operation.